MOSCOW (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Jordan's King Abdullah II arrived in Moscow on Sunday for talks on trade and on the on-going Israeli occupation of Arab and Palestinian lands, where he was expected to urge Russia to play a bigger role in peace efforts.(Read photo caption below)The king's first official trip to Russia could also include talks on purchasing Russian weapons and other military cooperation, Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
Abdullah is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders in Moscow on Tuesday and visit St. Petersburg on Wednesday.
``I'm looking forward to my meeting with President Putin at which we'll examine concrete steps that can be taken to develop our relations in all areas, politically, culturally and economically,'' ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying.
On Monday, Abdullah is to travel to the weapons-making city of Tula to look at Russian weaponry and visit an elite airborne division.
Jordan's 120,000-strong army, which has suffered through 12 years of spending cuts, has some Soviet-made weapons bought by Abdullah's late father, King Hussein, in the early 1980, including air defense systems, tanks and machine guns.
Before the visit, Jordanian diplomats in Moscow said Jordan would like Russia to increase its role in Mideast peacemaking and come up with concrete peace proposals.
``At this point, the priority is to restore calm,'' Abdullah said.
Russia is a co-sponsor of the Mideast peace process launched in 1991 but has played a far smaller role than the United States. Moscow's ties to the Arab world have frayed since the Soviet Union's collapse a decade ago, and its relations with Israel have improved.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Jordan's King Abdullah II, right, attends an official welcome ceremony after his arrival in Moscow's Vnukovo airport, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2001. Others are unidentified. The king arrived in Moscow Sunday for talks on trade and cooperation and the on-going Israeli occupation of Arab and Palestinian lands, and was expected to try to persuade Russia to play a bigger role in negotiating an end to the conflict. (AP Photo/ Maxim Marmur)